On Friday, February 3rd, South School celebrated the conclusion of this year's Go Blue! Read-A-Thon with a fun-filled, school-wide assembly. The assembly was a great way to recap the fun activities students participated in, announce the top performers at each grade level and share the combined results of students' hard work!
The Go Blue! Read-A-Thon, which ran from January 16-29, is a two-week event that celebrates, cultivates, and motivates our children to pursue their love for reading. During this period, students tracked their reading progress and asked friends and family to pledge for them to help raise funds for reading initiatives at South School. Our South School PTC also planned various fun activities to keep our students engaged, including different themed days and surprise visits from guest readers.
Prizes were awarded to the "Top Fundraiser" and "Top Reader" students at each grade level, as well as classrooms with 100% student participation. Additionally, all of our students who participated in this year's event received a special reading flashlight to help them on their reading journey!
Students could also qualify for a chance to be "Guest Librarian" in the school library for the day, and the South School librarian Mrs. Alison Bartlett, ran a fun bookmark contest with the kids.
"The Read-a-Thon is a wonderful South tradition that builds community and gets kids excited about reading. The spirit days and guest readers from the community make it even more special. We are lucky to have a PTC that supports our teachers by giving back to the library and classrooms through books and supplies. In addition, they bring in visiting authors and performing artists to enrich our students' lives," said Alison Barlett, South School Librarian.
With outstanding encouragement from our community, an impressive 91% of students participated in this year's Read-A-Thon and read over 320,000 minutes in just two weeks. South School also hit its fundraising goal, fully funding our reading programs for the rest of the school year. Initiatives include author visits, classroom books, and library supplies.
Thank you to all the South School teachers and administrators, parent volunteers, and the South PTC for all their hard work and sponsorship of this fun annual program!
Additional thanks go to our guests' readers, including South Principal Joanne Rocco, New Canaan Fire Department Chief Albe Bassett, CT State Representative Tom O'Day, NC Police Department School Liaison Officer Shane Gibson, New Canaan Library Children's Librarian Rebecca Fox, and NCPS Superintendent Dr. Bryan Luizzi.
